Ruth Cahn (percussion) Ruth Cahn earned a BM in applied music and music education and Performer’s Certificate in percussion from the Eastman School of Music. Her performance credentials include : 35 years as a full time member of the Percussion Section of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra; 12 years as a member of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and Opera and visiting performer with the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra. Chamber Music performances have included: Society for Chamber Music in Rochester; Live from Hochstein at Noon; Chautauqua Chamber Music; Eastman’s Women in Music Festival and tours with the Canadian Brass. She has appeared in TV and recordings with the above ensembles in addition to recording Raga # 1 for solo timpanist on the CD “Music of William L. Cahn”. Ruth has a strong interest in world percussion and studied Tabla and Hindustani Music with Khumud Ranjan Banarjee.
For 27 years, Ruth was an artist in residence for the Rochester City School District where she developed and presented sequential programs for students that linked music with school curriculum. She has also presented teacher training workshops for music teachers and for classroom teachers.
Leadership activities have included: serving as a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Board of Directors; serving as Development Director for the RPO (1993-94); chairing the RPOMusician’s Negotiation Committee; serving as a Director on the RPO’s Philharmonic League and service as a director and mentor to the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. Ruth also participated as a mentor and coach for the American Symphony Orchestra League’s Youth Orchestra Festival in Sarasota, Florida.
On the collegiate level, Ruth has performed and presented as a guest artist at the University of Michigan School of Music in both the percussion and education areas.
Students from Ruth’s percussion studios have gone on to major colleges and conservatories of music to include: Eastman School of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard, Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Michigan, Hartt College Conservatory, Oberlin College, Ithaca College, Indiana University, Carnegie Mellon and Duquesne University. Her former students perform with major orchestras, teach in colleges and are music teachers in the schools. Many former students, while not pursuing a career in music, continue to participate in community musical organizations as active percussionists and define music as an enriching component of their life.
Currently Ruth serves as a Director of the Percussive Arts Society and as a Board Member of Project UNIQUE. Ruth is a senior instructor in the ECMS and has a percussion studio of around 30 students varying in age from 8 to 74 years. She also directs three ECMS percussion ensembles ; Drum Joy, Marimba Journey and Rhythm Adventure. In the summer Ruth directors the ECMS’s internationally acclaimed Music Horizon residential program for gifted high school students who are considering a career in music. Eastman collegiate responsibilities include teaching “The Joys and Opportunities of Studio Teaching Course” in the Arts Leadership Program and serving as the Summer Session Director for the Eastman School of Music.
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